How to Improve Heart Health

3 min read

About 6.5 million Americans are living with heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women of most racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.² Lifestyle choices such as diet and exercise play a big role in who gets heart disease. But other health conditions play a role too. Heart disease is more common in people with certain long-term medical issues such as diabetes, psoriatic arthritis, or lupus.^3-5 Plus, some cancer medications can damage your heart muscle.¹

Why improve heart health?

Improving your heart health can go a long way toward making you feel better and having more energy. In addition, many heart-healthy habits reduce the risk of other diseases, such as cancer and stroke. Looking and feeling better maybe a welcome outcome of maintaining a healthy weight and quitting smoking, 2 of the lifestyle changes that help your heart.

Monitoring conditions and medications

There are risk factors for heart disease that we can’t control. This includes certain genes, conditions we are born with, or infections we may get. The good news is that there are many areas where we do have control. Our daily habits have a major impact on our hearts. That means we have the power to improve our heart health with several different lifestyle choices. Even small changes can help.

One way to keep your heart as healthy as possible is to manage your drugs and medical conditions. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes pose major risks for heart disease and stroke. Keeping your blood pressure in a healthy range reduces strain on all of your blood vessels, your heart, and your kidneys.⁶ Likewise, controlling your blood sugar and your cholesterol is important for heart health.

Monitoring these conditions, staying in touch with your doctor, and taking your drugs regularly are important for protecting your heart. This can be challenging, especially if you are feeling depressed or if you experience unpleasant side effects. Seeking social support and communicating with your healthcare team can help.⁷

Choose healthy food and drinks

Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and other high-fiber foods contributes to heart health. Choosing healthy foods also helps you maintain your weight, which is another key factor in protecting your heart.

Other ideas for making healthy food choices include:⁸

Limiting sweetened drinks, cured meats or lunch meats, processed foods, added sugars, full-fat milk and cheese, eggs, and tropical oils like palm and coconut.
Avoiding trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils, which can be found in fried foods and commercially prepared baked goods.
Choosing unsaturated oils, like olive oil and avocado oil.
Reading labels to watch for hidden sodium, saturated fats, and added sugar.
Cooking at home more often.

Other helpful tips

Walking, weight training, making it a point to get up and move throughout the day, and setting goals that motivate you to keep working harder can also be of help. Being physically active can provide a big boost. Even small amounts of physical activity can help your heart. This includes housekeeping and gardening. Experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of intense activity spread throughout the week.⁹

Quitting smoking is another extremely important action to take and the benefits are profound and happen quickly. Smoking is responsible for one-third of the deaths caused by heart disease. But within 1 year of quitting, your risk of heart disease and cancer goes down by half.¹⁰ Smoking is addictive, so it can be challenging to quit. But more than 1 million people successfully quit each year. The benefits improve more than your heart health, because quitting reduces the risk of cancer, makes it easier to be physically active, and protects your loved ones from the health risks of second-hand smoke.¹⁰

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aapostal Member
Along with my COPD, I have had a complete heart failure and now have a 3 lead pace maker. My point here is that I have to keep on top of both as the symptoms are both the same. Sometimes while working on the COPD it just doesn't feel like things are working right. I go to the heart doctor and find that something just isn't right. Or visa versa.
1. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Member
 Hi aapostal, and thanks for joining in this conversation related to the site's article on 'heart health. We appreciate you sharing your own personal experience managing both asthma and a cardiac condition. It sounds like you are very much attuned to changes in your condition(s) and what you feel is normal for you. In this way, you have certainly become your own best self advocate. Keep up the good work! All the best, Leon (site moderator <a href='https://copd.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)
ann55 Member
I had the Zepyr Valve placement done almost 3 weeks ago. I was feeling better and hopeful, then one night at midnight I had Afib, called an ambulance and was in the hospital for almost 20 hours . Now my breathing has not been good at all. I go back to see the surgeon in weeks but I may have to go sooner. Anyone else have this problem?
1. Leon Lebowitz, RRT Member
 Hi Ann55 and thanks for joining in the conversation here. I'm sorry to hear that you are currently having some difficulty with your breathing following the valve placement procedure and the development of atrial fibrillation. I understand that your scheduled appointment is some weeks away. If your breathing continues to be a concern of yours, or it persists or worsens even, you may want to ask for an appointment much sooner than scheduled. The physician/surgeon would absolutely want to be made aware of this recent change in your condition What do you think? Please do check back and let us know how this all turns out for you. Good luck! Leon (site moderator <a href='https://copd.net' target='_blank'>COPD.net</a>)